The DUA were present all day at the Freshers’ Fair in the Students’ Union on Wednesday. We received a great response from students at our stall, with a large number of freshers and continuing students joining the association. We would like to thank all those who managed to stop and talk to us in the middle of the Snack Bar chock-a-block!

We also collected dozens of signatures for the “Campaign for a Referendum on our membership of the European Union” petition. Amid the current turmoil in the EU over bailouts and the euro currency and ever increasing moves towards European integration, we believe it is about time the people of the United Kingdom were given the choice of whether or not to remain part of this organisation.*

DUA stall at Freshers’ Fair

QUBSU VP Welfare Adam McGibbon signs the EU referendum petition

DUA stall at Freshers’ Fair

If you are a student at Queen’s, were unable to attend the Freshers’ Fair and would like to join in our activities this year, please email us at queensdua@hotmail.com with your name, student number and a contact telephone number and we will get back to you.

A few members of Queen’s DUA recently travelled to Belgium and France as part of a Democratic Unionist Party group to visit the battlefields of World War I. The trip included visits to several war cemeteries, the Thiepval memorial and the Ulster Tower, where an Act of Remembrance was held and a cross was laid on behalf of the Association in remembrance of all those who made the ultimate sacrifice whilst fighting for democracy and freedom in the Great War almost 100 years ago.

At Ulster Tower memorial

It was a moving experience to see the areas where men from the 36th Ulster Division and 16th Irish Division, as part of the Allied Forces, fought and suffered such loss of life. For their brave contribution we owe them so much.

Cross laid at Ulster Tower memorial

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them

Ulster Tower

The group also had the opportunity to visit the European Parliament in Brussels, where we were given a tour and met with Diane Dodds MEP.

As the youth wing of the Democratic Unionist Party on campus, the DUA is one of the largest and most active societies at Queen’s!

Whether you are coming to Queen’s this September as a fresher or returning student, membership of the DUA will be great for any student with an interest in Unionist politics and meeting new people of a like mind. As well as political meetings, we cater for the social needs of our members and organise a variety of events throughout the year.

Come and see us at the Freshers’ Fair in the Students’ Union on Wednesday 28th September from 10am, where you will be able to have a chat with us and sign up!

If you have any queries, you can contact us at queensdua@hotmail.com

We look forward to meeting you!

There is also a DUP Association at the University of Ulster. Check out www.ulsterdup.org for details.

Chair of the Assembly’s Education Committee Mervyn Storey has congratulated all the A-level students across Northern Ireland who received their examination results today. These included Mr Storey’s own daughter who received her results this morning. The DUP MLA said that the levels of success in Northern Ireland were something for the entire Province to be proud of. Speaking today Mr Storey said,

“Across the United Kingdom A-level passes have increased for nearly 30 years in a row, but Northern Ireland students have once again outperformed colleagues from right across the country.

The results locally are not just testament to excellent schools from every sector, but they are also something everyone in the Province can be proud of. No-one will be unaware of the difficult economic climate that these students are emerging into, but the skills and knowledge they have built up will assist them in their career and help build our economy in the future.

For those students who may not have achieve the grades hoped for, there are a wide range of options to explore, and with the pressure on university places many will look to our Further Education colleges which provide an excellent environment to continue studies.”

“It was a long campaign but the result has made it all worthwhile. Unionism has decided that the DUP is on the right course and our strategy and policies have been endorsed. The DUP not only returns to Stormont as the largest Party and thus will hold the First Minister’s position but we have also increased our mandate to 38 Assembly Members. This is the best Assembly election result in the history of our Party and our team deserve great credit. As leader, I am indebted to all our Party workers who have been organising and working on the campaign trail over the past twelve months. I pay tribute to their dedicated and unwavering hard work and particularly to our forty-four DUP candidates and their families.

When writing on these pages only a few days ahead of the election, I asked News Letter readers to support the DUP’s vision to keep Northern Ireland moving forward and ensure that unionism returned to the Assembly in a position of strength.

I said we offered a positive vision for the future where the economy would be the Executive’s number one priority. I outlined how we wanted to see more jobs, tougher sentences and low rates. We wanted to fix education and we wanted better health. I also said we wanted to work together with other parties and we wanted to strengthen unionism.

The electorate has responded to that vision and has given us an increased mandate to enter the Assembly and ensure we keep Northern Ireland moving in the right direction.

This result has settled the course of unionism. Those who claimed traditional unionists wanted to wreck Stormont got their answer through the ballot box. Their wreckers’ charter has been rejected. Genuine traditional unionists want to see Stormont working. They want a strong team at the table ensuring Northern Ireland is getting the best deal. But they also realise that to achieve this we must work with others.

Those who tried to be in the last Executive but not of the Executive also received a loud message from the electorate. Their disruptive and disingenuous politics were rejected.

I recognise that Stormont isn’t perfect but those who oppose us offer no credible alternative. I indicated at our manifesto launch that I would take constructive proposals from other parties and work to make them a reality because I realise that this structure only succeeds if we work together. However, I will robustly expose those who try to score points by carping from the sidelines and talking Northern Ireland down.

It is my hope that with no scheduled elections for three years there will be a more constructive attitude amongst the parties at Stormont. Indeed, within unionism there is a lot more that unites us than divides us and I want to build on that over the next term. No matter what constituency I canvassed in the election the message was clear that unionists wanted to see their representatives working together. I’m in favour of that and the DUP will work towards it.

After months of planning, six weeks of campaigning, a day of polling and two long days of waiting around the Newtownards count centre, on Saturday evening I was able to make my declaration speech. In that speech, I dedicated our success in the election to the memory of young Constable Ronan Kerr. This young man, recognising the threat, enrolled with the PSNI to serve his community. As individuals we must work to ensure this Province never goes back to the dark ways of our past.

As First Minister, I look forward, along with my team and all those who will work with us, to playing a full part in building a society where everyone can be proud to say they come from Northern Ireland. I’m honoured to say, the DUP has firmly established itself as the Party of Northern Ireland.”

Outgoing Assembly member and candidate for East Antrim, Alastair Ross was our special guest at our Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 13th April. Mr. Ross touched on many of the prevailing issues in the current election campaign and the DUP’s priorities for the next term of the Assembly. He also stressed the importance of letting the public know what has been achieved in the last four years against the odds.

A new committee for 2011-2012 was elected, with David Brooks taking over as Chairman.

New committee members with Alastair Ross

A cheque presentation was also made to the Royal British Legion from the proceeds of our very successful social event that was held last month.